The Start of Something New
by Morning Star96
Summary: My continuation of what happened to Amanda after she escaped from the flooded tomb in Paraíso with the wraith plus how she and James met.


The Start of Something New 

**Hey there! Congratulations for selecting my story to read :D. This is kind of my first Tomb Raider fan fiction that I've wrote although I have another one planned. I am a bit of a newbie so be gentle! Hope you enjoy this story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story, they are owned by **_**Eidos Interactive**_** and **_**Crystal Dynamics**_**. The ideas expressed in this story are owned by me. I also do not own the **_**Punta Sal Club Hotel**_**. **

Amanda swam out of the cave as fast as she could. She sensed that the unknown entity trailed after her. Amanda reached the surface on top from where the water had entered and rested on the ground with the wraith stone grasped tight in her hand. She breathed heavily from the strenuous swim. The entity floated beside Amanda, almost guarding her.

After a few minutes of rest, Amanda felt her energy come back. She turned slowly towards the creature besides her feeling nothing but fear for it. It killed all her friends; there's a possibility that it might kill her too. _Maybe it wants the stone back _she thought. Amanda reached her hand out to it with the stone in her hand. The entity bowed down to Amanda. "You protect this stone, don't you?" She asked. Amanda was now liable for the creature.

After a long walk to her university campus, Amanda quickly grabbed her things before anybody else could see her. The unknown entity was now locked in the stone. As she left the campus, Amanda glimpsed at the campus one last time. Amanda was leaving everything behind, including her so-called friend Lara. She unloaded her luggage on the back of her Jeep.

Amanda took a quiet drive along the deserted streets of Peru. It was quite dark with only the stars illuminating the night sky. The weather was humid but pleasant. She booked herself a room at the _Punta Sal Club Hotel_. Amanda placed her luggage on the floor next to the bed and took out the wraith stone from her pocket to examine it closely. It was made out of Quartz with a black skull on top. The stone started to release a ghastly black/maroon hue. Amanda dropped the stone to floor; she was clearly frightened by it. _I need a breather _Amanda thought.

She took out a beautiful red gypsy dress to wear from her bag.

"_Ooh_ _what's this doing here?" Lara asked her friend whilst studying Amanda's red dress_

"_I packed it with just in case-"_

"_In case you have a date?"_

"_No you dim-wit. In case there is an important event. Now gimme my dress back"_

_Lara looked at Amanda, then back at her friend's dress._

"_And if I don't want to?" Lara replied with a cheeky smile. Amanda grabbed a pillow from one of the chairs and began to initiate a pillow fight with Lara by throwing the pillow towards her. _

Amanda remembered that day as if it were yesterday. The dress complemented her skin tone and blue eyes. She went outside to the beach that was owned by the hotel. The surroundings were beautiful, there were fire torches in the sand, some people were dancing to Latin music and some were socializing with each other. Amanda settled herself on a seat at the bar. She ordered a mango cocktail, when she got it; she took a sip from the sweet drink. Amanda's thoughts drifted away thinking about the events that happened earlier that day. She wondered about Lara, her friends that were killed and the wraith stone. She saw someone from the corner of her eye starting to approach her but she didn't take note of him or her.

"Excuse me miss" A man's voice called out to her

Amanda turned around to find a tall, dark and handsome stranger opposite her. He was wearing a white shirt and black pants. He also wore tinted shades.

"I couldn't help but notice that you seem a bit glum. Are you okay?" A curious little half-smile curved his lips leaving Amanda feeling butterflies in her stomach.

"Umm I guess so. Just had a really long day…" She said in an almost inaudible voice.

"Haven't we all." The man said "Hi I'm James" he reached out his hand to Amanda.

"Amanda. Pleased to meet you James"

They gave each other a firm but lingering handshake.

_This is going to be interesting… _Amanda thought to herself

Two drinks later, everyone left the beach except for a band playing one last song. The two of them were now dancing slowly in each other's arms. Amanda felt slightly tipsy but was still functioning properly

"So, what are we going to do when the band stops playing?" she asked James "Because we can't dance forever you know"

"I'm going to take you back to your hotel room 'cause it looks like you need some rest" he replied

Amanda smiled sweetly at him leaving her blue crystalline eyes to sparkle in the moonlight. "Okay… so when you do drop me off, are you gonna leave me all by myself?"

"Maybe. You looking for company?"

"Well I wouldn't say no"

Amanda and James took a walk to her hotel which wasn't far away from the beach.

They arrived at the hotel room. Amanda opened the door with James behind her. She turned around to face James & gave him a light caress.

"You know.." she whispered in his ear "I really don't want the night to end, so why don't you make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back"

Amanda kissed him tenderly then left to the bathroom. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. She was so caught up in her new found love interest that she forgot all about the things that happened during the course of the day. Amanda studied the bathroom cabinet. All her hair brushes, lotions and soaps were on the cabinet, but something was different. Amanda saw a black object from the corner of her eye. She peered to the left and found the wraith stone on the counter.  
_"How did this get here?" _Amanda thought. She walked slowly towards the stone. It started to glow intensively as Amanda came closer to it. Amanda jarred to a halt, wondering what it would do next.

Out of curiosity, she snatched it as fast as she could. The wraith stone started to shake. Amanda dropped it to the floor hoping that it would break, but the stone was still intact.

"You okay in there?" James shouted from the bedroom.

"Y… Yes I'm okay, don't you worry" Amanda replied blinking at the stone in fear. The wraith stone didn't react which made her breathe a sigh of relief.

As she was about to resume back to the cabinet, black smoke released from the stone and the entity emerged. Amanda was horrified. The creature seemed to worship Amanda.

"Master, I shall shield you and obey your every command"

"Me? Your master? How? Amanda was confused

"Master, you pulled me out from the temple. You are in control of me"

Amanda stared to realize her position as the creature's new owner.  
"In that case, I want you to go back into your habitat or whatever and don't come out until I summon you" she commanded the entity with confidence.

"As you say Master" The entity responded to her command, it "soaked" in to the stone and disappeared. Amanda put the stone in the cabinet's drawer.

Amanda looked at her herself in the mirror once more and fluffed her hair. She entered the bedroom. James made his way to her and kissed her on her cheek.

"What took you so long?" he asked her

"Oh just girl stuff. Promise me one thing James"

"Yeah"

"Promise me that whatever I tell you, it stays between us"

James smiled at her "I promise. Is there something I need to know?"

Amanda shot a glance at the cabinet drawer where the stone is hidden.

"You'll find out soon enough"

**You likey? Well if you do, I appreciate positive reviews as well as constructive criticism. Thanks for reading, have a super day ;)**


End file.
